"They've been beating me up so bad" - David Robertson reflects on fanning out Shohei Ohtani & Co. in consecutive games
The Texas Rangers registered a memorable win on Thursday against the Los Angeles Dodgers after David Robertson's heroics. A 3-1 victory for the Rangers at Dodger Stadium meant that the reigning World Series champions won a series in LA for the first time in nearly 25 years.
However, things were quite different when the series began, as the Dodgers' star-studded offense battered the Rangers 15-2 in the series opener. It seemed like the Rangers' rotation was going to have a tough time containing the Dodgers hitters, but veteran pitcher David Robertson came to the rescue in the final two games.
Robertson, 39, became the first pitcher to strikeout Mookie Betts, Shohei Ohtani and Freddie Freeman in the same inning on Wednesday. As impressive as it was, the veteran pitcher replicated the same heroics on Thursday in the eighth inning when he fanned out the trio back-to-back with runners in scoring position.
“It was just my turn to win a battle against them because they’ve been beating me up so bad,” Robertson said.
While the veteran pitcher had never squared off against Ohtani and Freeman in a regular season game before this week, Metts had found considerable success in his 11 at-bats against Robertson. But it was Robertson who had the last laugh this time.
"Mookie, on the other hand, he's been hitting lasers off me his whole career,” Robertson said.
“I feel like I got him when he was first in the league. I got him out a bunch of times, and then he just flipped the switch and just was all over me.”
David Robertson laughs off challenge of facing Shohei Ohtani
David Robertson's first duel with Shohei Ohtani ended in favor of the veteran pitcher as he struck out the Japanese superstar swinging to his cutter, cutter, knuckle curve sequence.
The former World Series winner chanced his arm on Thursday with the same combination, fanning out the two-way phenom for a second consecutive game. However, Robertson remained humble despite his remarkable accolade.
“It’s fun when it’s over,” he said with a laugh about facing Ohtani.
The Rangers have had an indifferent start to their title defense but are in second spot in the AL West, thanks to their rivals Houston Astros' timid start to the season.